I had the opportunity today to watch the Kemba vs Jimmer workout at the Jazz Practice facility. Here is what I saw.
Conditioning: Jimmer was in the best shape of all those at the workout. I don't know if altitude had anything to do with it, but all the players looked winded, except for Jimmer. You could see the other players huffing and puffing and Jimmer was breathing effortlessly. Kemba was not as in as good of shape as Jimmer.
Court length speed: Kemba is very fast up and down the court. Jimmer is also very fast up and down the court, but Kemba is a little quicker, not much though.
Lateral speed: Actually Jimmer looked much quicker than Kemba in lateral movements. Not only that, but like his uncle Lee Taft has said he is very efficient with his motions. There is really no wasted motions in his movements. He was able to get by every one that guarded him and more importantly he was able to stay in front of everyone he guarded. Impressive.
Shooting: Jimmer is by far the better shooter. In fact it is not even close. There was one point where Jimmer went 36/40 from just inside the 3 point line. It was insane. It was swoosh, swoosh, swoosh....Not much rim contact. So impressive. Kemba didn't shoot well. In fact it was horrid at times. He did catch fire on some NBA threes during one drill where he went 7/10. Other than that I was calculating that he shot about 34% to 40% on the day. Jimmer shot 85% to 90% for the day. Huge difference. This was so evident.
Dribbling: Kemba is a fast dribbler, but his ball control isn't refined. He was very loose with his dribbling and I could see this being a problem for him at times. Jimmer's ball handling was excellent. His crossovers, quick step, and moves to the hoop where really impressive. He looked really quick and fast today.
Passing: Jimmer had some nice passes into the big men setting up layups. They were the kind of passes that made you say, "Wow"! Kemba passed well, but nothing overly impressive.
Demeanor: Jimmer has such a positive demeanor and outlook with his play. He is relentless in his attacking the defense. He finds a way to get the ball in the hole. I think the players playing with him today were amazed at how good he is. People like him and want to be around him. Greg Miller said that he was impressed by Jimmers leadership skills and the way he treated the other players. He didn't act like he was better than they were. He approached the workout with complete professionalism. Kemba has a good demeanor as well. Seems like a very good guy, and will have good team chemistry with other players. I thought Kemba was going to be a punk, but that wasn't the case. Seems to be a great guy.
Defense: Kemba couldn't back Jimmer down or get by him. Kemba kept trying to take Jimmer to the hole, but Jimmer was able to stay in front of him and use his strength to stop Kemba from penetrating. It was an interesting watch to see Jimmer putting some lockdown "D" on Kemba. Jimmer can play defense. I saw it today. In fact it was impressive. Jimmer looked more impressive defensively than Deron Williams has. I think Jimmer is going to surprise a lot of people here. I was absolutely amazed at this. Kemba could not get to the hole. I only saw Kemba score once in the 3 on 3 games. Jimmer was guarding him so close he was getting frustrated and could get the ball where he wanted it to go. Kemba did make a couple of tough plays with Jimmer right on him. Overall though Jimmer shut him down.
Offense: Nothing to say. He is the complete man. I have never seen someone shoot like this kid can. It is amazing. So fluid, and accurate. It is scary. I love watching him play. It is so captivating.
Overall: Jimmer made Kemba look normal and made himself look like a superstar. He is completely amazing to watch. It was completely captivating today to watch him. No wonder Sacramento was salivating. I overheard one of the Jazz personnel say that in Indiana he only missed 2 shots the whole day. Everyone there in that room was amazed at how well Jimmer did today. He was the best player there today and it wasn't even close. Not only that, but the Jazz will need to take him at 3. He is the most underrated player in the draft and from what I saw today. He should be the #1 pick. Dude is a beast!!!!!!!!!! I hope to post more later.